The Blonde and The Hobo
by floopyrocks
Summary: Sorry to call Cliff a hobo but this is the idea I had. Anyways this is Otakuandproud123's secret santa present! Sorry its so late! CliffXClaire


**Me: So yup! Otaku if you're reading this, this is your secret santa present! Sorry it's so late, I got really busy. But anyways… HERE YOU GO! :D Enjoy! But FIRST: DISCLAIMER!**

***pulls Cliff into the picture* Me: I got Cliff just for this occasion cuz Luke and Kurt are back at home!**

**Cliff: Can I go?**

**Me: NO! DISCLAIMER FIRST!**

**Cliff: *sighs* fine. Floopyrocks does not own Harvest Moon.**

**Me: Thank you Cliff NOW GO! Enjoy your present Otaku! :3**

Claire's POV

"Happy Thanksgiving, sir."

My boss nodded to me as he shifted through some papers. "You too, Claire." It was Thanksgiving Day and the only people that I had to share it with was Thomas, my boss, and Irma, one of the maids who I liked to talk to when I was bored. Working at a hotel on the day of Thanksgiving was the only way I could pass my time these days. My life seemed to get more boring with each minute.

A family of three approached the counter, their suitcases in tow. Thomas looked up and smiled at them. "Hi! What can I do for you?"

As the family checked in I went to Thomas' office to take a look at the clock. 10:17 PM it read. My shift was almost over.

I returned to the front desk to find Thomas handing over a map and telling the family how to get to their room. They nodded, thanked him, and started to go down the hallway when the little boy in the family, who was about six or seven, broke away from his mom and dad and ran back over to the counter. He had short spiky blonde hair. It wasn't as light as my blonde hair though. He was more of a dirty blonde.

He pushed the bell and Thomas' head shot up. He grimaced. It had been a long day. "What?" He almost snarled.

The little boy flinched. Then he looked at me. "I just wanted to tell you that there's a hobo outside. Why won't you let him in?"

"A hobo?" Thomas repeated.

Before more words could be exchanged between them the boy's mother, a small thing with short dirty blonde hair that just touched her shoulders and bright sky blue eyes, rushed over to the little boy and grabbed his arm. "Bo, come on. It's past your bedtime. You've got to be tired."

The little boy turned toward his mother. "Sorry mommy. I only wanted to tell them about the hobo I saw."

His mother shook her head. I could see the look of disbelief already clouding her face. "Bo. You've got to stop telling stories. If you continue like this no one is ever going to believe a word you say." She started to pull him away and I could hear Bo's voice become louder and whinier as he was whisked away.

"But I DID see a hobo! Didn't you see him too?" His mother shushed him and things were quiet again, the only sound was the soft drum of the wheels on the family's suitcases making contact with the dark forest green rug.

I went to the back room again to check the time. A smile spread across my lips when I saw that the clock read 10:33 PM. I grabbed my heavy blue coat from a small closet and shrugged it on.

I returned to the counter and was getting ready to put away my nametag in one of the empty drawers near the floor when Thomas stopped me. He was glaring at me, as if I had done something morally wrong.

"What?" I said.

Thomas returned to the papers in front of him. "Before you turn in for the night could you go outside and see this 'hobo'?" he asked.

It didn't seem too hard. "Sure," I replied. I pushed open the door that lead to the lobby and started making my way toward the door. "Have a good night sir."

Thomas didn't look up from his papers, his big brown bushy mustache masked his mouth. I couldn't make out his expression. "You too, Claire."

I took one more look around the lobby that I knew too well, then I pushed open the door and shivered as a rush of cold air hit me square on. Shoving my hands into my pockets I looked around, my blonde hair whipping through the wind and hitting my face as I turned. I heard a cough. I turned around to see a man, scrunched up against one of the hotel's brick walls covered in boring beige paint.

"Excuse me. But what are you doing here?" I asked.

The man looked up. He was young, probably about 23 or 24 years old. He had dark brown hair gathered into a small pony tail but his bangs were a dash of blonde. He wore a light brown coat. "I'm sorry. I've been traveling for days and I needed somewhere to sit."

I raised an eyebrow questioningly at him. "There are some benches right over there. Why didn't you just sit there?" I pointed to my left and his eyes followed to where I was pointing.

The man shook his head and turned to look back at me. "They are too cold to sit on." There was silence between us for a moment. Then he finally broke it. "Listen I'm sorry to have wasted your time. I'm leaving." He stood and I noticed that he was only just a bit taller than me. He walked off into the cold dark night but I just stood there and watched him go.

* * *

><p>A couple days later I was cleaning down a table in the lobby when Thomas called my name. "CLAIRE!" I dropped what I was doing and ran over to the counter.<p>

"Yes sir?" I asked.

"That hobo is out there again. Get rid of him please!"

I nodded and went outside without my coat. I found the "hobo" in the exact same place that I had found him the first time. He smiled at me but I frowned at him.

"You're back," I noted.

He chuckled and stood. "I was just leavin'"

"You have nowhere to go. Why do you keep coming back?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I dunno' I just feel drawn to this place."

I looked at him. I looked at his torn and rag-like clothes. I… I felt sorry for him… I sighed. "You can live at my place for the timebeing… if… if you want," I offered.

His whole body literally lit up. "You don't have to," he replied. But I saw in his eyes that he really wanted to just scream "YES!"

"Seriously. It's fine."

He smiled warmly at me. "Thank you so much. My name is Cliff."

* * *

><p>One Season Later…<p>

I plopped down on my bed and opened up the newspaper in my hands. Cliff came out of the bathroom and plopped himself down onto the other bed. Cliff turned the TV on and started watching it while I read the newspaper in silence.

My eyes suddenly caught on an ad.

_Free Farmland in Mineral Town! _

_Call 555-623-7392 for more info._

I thought for a second. _A farm… huh. Am I desperate enough to get away from my boring life to take over a farm?... _My eyes drifted to phone on the bedside table inbetween mine and Cliff's bed. _Yeah. I am. _I dropped the newspaper, picked up the phone and dialed the number.

* * *

><p>That night…<p>

Cliff and I file off the boat. I had two suitcases in hand but Cliff had nothing. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. I raised an eyebrow questioningly at Cliff. "You looked like you never in your life have been on a boat!" I noted.

He shook his head. "Never have, till' now."

We found the farmland and I wasn't too happy to find that the farmland was full of weeds, sticks, and stones.

A guy with a bushy mustache that looked a LOT like my boss back when I worked at the hotel approached us. "Hello there! Are you Claire?"

I nodded. "Yup. This is Cliff."

Cliff bobbed his head as if to say "Hey there."

The guy looked from me to Cliff. "You two married?"

My face flushed furiously. I shook my head. "N-No! N-Nothing l-like t-that! We're j-just friends!"

He backed down. "Sorry. I was only wondering. That's peculiar because everytime he looks at you, his eyes shine brightly."

I looked at Cliff as he blushed too. I put down my suitcases and walked over to him, putting my face right up into his. We were so close our noses were almost touching. _Oh-mi-gosh his lips are so close, _I thought. "Is this true?" I asked.

Cliff didn't answer. He just smashed his lips against mine and fireworks exploded.

The guy awkwardly left as we kissed.

It was magical and I never wanted it to end.


End file.
